In the swing: Georgia on our minds as the PGA heads to Augusta
“I would happily never play golf again in my entire life if my final round was at Augusta,” writes Neil Cullen as he previews the season’s first Major.
ARGUABLY THE MOST special week in the golfing calendar is upon us. It’s all about the US Masters.
If ever there was a player that lives for this tournament it’s Phil Mickelson, and what a week to hit form. Before the weekend passed, Mickelson had not won a tournament since last year’s US Masters and repeatedly missed out on opportunities last summer to become world number one.
2010 was the first year since 2003 that he hadn’t won more than one event in a season, although admittedly if he’d had his choice of one, he’d have likely chosen the US Masters.
The bigger issue though was that Mickelson wasn’t showing the form that had him at number two in the world rankings for so long.
This slight dip in form, if “dip” is even the correct word, coincided with the surge from the European players – Kaymer, Westwood et al. Put it this way, if you’d been asked 6-9 months ago to pick a Masters winner, Mickelson probably wouldn’t have been top of your list.
He certainly won’t have it all his own way though.
We must not forget the man in the field who has four green jackets in his locker already, Tiger Woods. It was February of last year when Woods made that famous apology for the “transgressions” that had come to a head the previous November.
The Masters was his first tournament in 20 weeks. His 68 on day one was his best opening round ever at the Tournament. He eventually finished in a tie for fourth. So even at his worst, Tiger can put a score together around Augusta National.
In fact, despite 2010 being his worst ever on tour, he had the second best record in the Majors behind Phil Mickelson. That stat is going on cumulative score to par across all four Majors. So clearly he cannot be counted out, and that’s even before you take into account the glimpses of form he has shown recently.
Aside from these two favourites, there’s any number of other players who could be thrown into the mix and as we all know, golf is one of the few sports where the overall winner can be the guy you least expect.
What is guaranteed, however, is that we’re in for a treat this coming weekend. The Masters is a special event.
First of all, it’s the only Major that returns to the same venue every year. That may not seem all that relevant, but Augusta is a very special place.
Gary Player has described as one of the four toughest golf courses in the world. The greens undulate to such an extent that it’s impossible to measure their speed, as there isn’t a flat enough piece of green on which to use a stimpmeter. Such is the setting, with the various trees and flowers, that Rory McIlroy has likened it to playing golf in a park.
The rolling undulations, the colour schemes, the distant roars of the crowd echoing from hole to hole, the sound of the Amtrak blowing its horn in the distance, the crisp sound of a golf ball being nipped off the turf, and at the end of it all, a green jacket. It’s the stuff dreams are made of.
I wondered this morning what I would give to play a round at Augusta National. Not in monetary terms, you couldn’t put a price on it, but something that I would sacrifice from my life. Sort of arbitrary, in that you could think of anything. Personally, I would happily never play golf again in my entire life if my final round was at Augusta. It would be golfing Nirvana.
In the swing: Georgia on our minds as the PGA heads to Augusta
ARGUABLY THE MOST special week in the golfing calendar is upon us. It’s all about the US Masters.
If ever there was a player that lives for this tournament it’s Phil Mickelson, and what a week to hit form. Before the weekend passed, Mickelson had not won a tournament since last year’s US Masters and repeatedly missed out on opportunities last summer to become world number one.
2010 was the first year since 2003 that he hadn’t won more than one event in a season, although admittedly if he’d had his choice of one, he’d have likely chosen the US Masters.
The bigger issue though was that Mickelson wasn’t showing the form that had him at number two in the world rankings for so long.
This slight dip in form, if “dip” is even the correct word, coincided with the surge from the European players – Kaymer, Westwood et al. Put it this way, if you’d been asked 6-9 months ago to pick a Masters winner, Mickelson probably wouldn’t have been top of your list.
His win at the Shell Houston Open last weekend changed everything. He is now firmly installed as favourite for the first Major of the year and probably justifiably so.
He certainly won’t have it all his own way though.
We must not forget the man in the field who has four green jackets in his locker already, Tiger Woods. It was February of last year when Woods made that famous apology for the “transgressions” that had come to a head the previous November.
The Masters was his first tournament in 20 weeks. His 68 on day one was his best opening round ever at the Tournament. He eventually finished in a tie for fourth. So even at his worst, Tiger can put a score together around Augusta National.
In fact, despite 2010 being his worst ever on tour, he had the second best record in the Majors behind Phil Mickelson. That stat is going on cumulative score to par across all four Majors. So clearly he cannot be counted out, and that’s even before you take into account the glimpses of form he has shown recently.
Aside from these two favourites, there’s any number of other players who could be thrown into the mix and as we all know, golf is one of the few sports where the overall winner can be the guy you least expect.
What is guaranteed, however, is that we’re in for a treat this coming weekend. The Masters is a special event.
First of all, it’s the only Major that returns to the same venue every year. That may not seem all that relevant, but Augusta is a very special place.
Gary Player has described as one of the four toughest golf courses in the world. The greens undulate to such an extent that it’s impossible to measure their speed, as there isn’t a flat enough piece of green on which to use a stimpmeter. Such is the setting, with the various trees and flowers, that Rory McIlroy has likened it to playing golf in a park.
The rolling undulations, the colour schemes, the distant roars of the crowd echoing from hole to hole, the sound of the Amtrak blowing its horn in the distance, the crisp sound of a golf ball being nipped off the turf, and at the end of it all, a green jacket. It’s the stuff dreams are made of.
I wondered this morning what I would give to play a round at Augusta National. Not in monetary terms, you couldn’t put a price on it, but something that I would sacrifice from my life. Sort of arbitrary, in that you could think of anything. Personally, I would happily never play golf again in my entire life if my final round was at Augusta. It would be golfing Nirvana.
Read more of Neil Cullen’s weekly golf columns here >
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Augusta National Caddy Shack In the Swing Phil Mickelson Shell Houston Open US Masters